Taking slugger's money off books would have big implications for luxury tax, spending

Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter doesn't want Alex Rodriguez to receive a lengthy suspension in the Biogenesis scandal, because he believes such a ban would be a huge financial boon to the New York Yankees.

If A-Rod is suspended without pay at least through the 2014 season, the Yankees would be in much better position to get their payroll under the $189 million luxury tax threshold and be freer to spend big again.

Buck Showalter says a lifetime suspension for Alex Rodriguez would be good news for the Yankees. (AP Photo)

"If (MLB commissioner) Bud (Selig) lets them get away with that, they're under the luxury tax," Showalter told USA Today. "If they can reset, they can spend again and I guarantee you in two years (Orioles catcher) Matt Wieters is in New York."

Wieters can become a free agent after the 2015 season.

USA Today notes that under baseball's collective bargaining agreement, the money that players are docked during their suspensions does not count against the tax or the team's payroll. Rodriguez is due to make $25 million in 2014, and $86 million overall from 2014 through 2017, but the average annual value (AAV) of his 10-year contract is reported at $27.5 million. AAVs are used to calculate payrolls for tax purposes.

If all or some of A-Rod's money comes off the books, the Yankees could much easier get their tax figure under $189 million after the '14 season (MLB calculates payrolls in the offseason). That, in turn, would "reset" the escalating scale of penalties the Yankees pay for going over the threshold. They would pay tax at a 17.5 percent rate the next time they go over rather than the current 50 percent rate as a repeat taxpayer. The reset could potentially save the club millions of dollars even if they have to pay tax again.